Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-08-18
Docs Protection PrOtect-Ir so-whO2
PAPER No. 5.

extortIon practlced on our peopie
by the tariff on sugar and wool we
turn our attention to-day to iron.
In a late editorial from protection
organ giving the statistics OF iron
and steel imports for one year, the
figures are given at $42, 250,5S5.
The Philadelphia Record ably re-
views this matter and we can do no
better than to extract from it. 1t
says
"When duties, freight, insurance
aud importers profits are added the
price of these imports to consumers
is raised to about $63, 200, 900. In
presenting these figures to its read
ers the tariff organ said that the
"moderate boom in prices for iron
and steel" was what had set the
British and Belgian mills and fur
naces at work turning out products
for the American market. The
organ added that our iron aud steel
industries might now be insured a
season of prosperity "wcre it not
for the competition which they are
obliged to meet with from abroad"
Nothing serves so well, to illus
trate the iniquity Of the existing
tariff and the greed of its beneficiar-
les as the case in hand. To begin,
there is no keen competition from
abroad. These imports of iron and
steel have been made in answer to
demand which the American market
was unable to supply. The proof
of this is in the fact that the home
manufacturers produced last year
more than euer before and were still
unable to supply the demand at the
exorbitant prices which the tariff
enabled them to extort from Amer
lean consumers.
When the Bessemcr monopolists
met at Long Branch three summers
ago to form combination to check
production and raise prices they
proved how little they knew of the
tremendous capacity and enterprise
of country the markets of which
they were attempting to control.
At that timc steel rails were sold at
x27 ton at an acknowledged prof
it. Hardly had the ring been form
cd and a check given to production
than--there arose a demand for
every variety of iron and steel, and
especially for the varieties used in
railroad construction and house
building. Prices of steel rails stead
ily advanced to $40 ton; aud, in
stead of carrying out their conspir
acy to limit production, the Besse.
mer monopolists were unable to
supply the demand. Then it was
that the foreign imports began to
pour in over the high tariff wall.
The regret of monopoly is that the
duties on steel and iron. are not
still more prohibitory, SO that it
might fllch more money from the
poskets Of american consumers.
The statement of the enormous
increase in the cost of imports of
steel and iron. by reason ofthe heavy
duties. insurance, freghts, etc,
which the organ of protection so
sadly deprecated, batparfially tells
this story of tariff greed and rob-
berry. Every pound of the domes-
tic products has been raised in price
to rate equivalent to the price of
the foreign import with the duties
and freight added; and this in one
form or another has been tax
upon the earnings Of every srorker
il Tic land. Every year since the
combination was formed the ring
divided, not less than so, 900, 900 |
over and above legitimate profits.
The duty Of Sl7 a ton enables them
TO gather this booty from the Amer
lean public; yet the droll pretense
is made that the present tariff is